Apparatus for singeing hosiery.



No. 64I,528. Patented lan. I6, |900. R. MEYER.

APPARATUS FOR SINGEING HOSIERY.

(Application filed Mar. 16, 1899.;

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

No Model.)

. XL o@ No. 641,528. Patented 1an. vI6, |900.

R. MEYER.

APPARATUS FOB SINGEING HOSIERY.

(Applieaeion med nar. 1e, 1399.) (No Modal.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

@www0/omo No. 64|,528. Patented lan.v I6, |900 R. MEYER. rA-Pll-VI'US FR SINGEING HOSIERY.

(Application med Mar. 1e, 1599.) lNo Model.) 4 Sheets-She 3.

Emma.

No. 64l,528. Patented Jan. I6, |900.

R. MEYER.

APPARATUS FR SINGEING HOSIERY.

- v (Application filed Mar. 16, 1899.) l (N0 MOMI-''. in... h. 4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

SWW/14,4302 Y Nrrnn TATES met.

" A` ATENE APP/iFz/-vrus FOR SINGEING HoslERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,528, dated January 16, 190.

Application filed March 16, 1899. Serial No. 709,302. (Nomodel.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Sin geing Hosiery; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the manufacture of hosiery; and the object is to provide an improved apparatus for treating the goods to give them the desired finish on the exterior by removing the lint or fuzz. It has been the prevailing custom heretofore to subject stockings to a rubbing action for the purpose of removing lint and fuzz, the articles being generally placed in a revolving drum, where friction between interior surfaces thereof and the goods is relied upon to produce the desired result, which is sometimes promoted by the use of chlorin gas or other chemical agents. There are many objections to this mode of procedure, among which may be mentioned the liability of the goods to deteriorate by rotting, shrinking, and losing weight and elasticity, the difficulty of freeing the goods lfrom injurious substances often used in the operation, and the accumulation of fuzz inside the stocking by reason of the fact that the rubbing action affects the inside as well as the outside surfaces. I propose to overcome all of these difficulties by pursuing a wholly different mode of procedure, consisting, essentially, in rst boarding the stockings-4. e., stretching them on forms-then singeing the outer surfaces of the boarded stockings, and finally brushing the singed surfaces to remove lint and fuzz. In an apparatus for use in carrying on such operations it is desirable to repeat the singein g and brushing a number of times to insure the removal of all matter calculated to detract from a inished appearance of the surface of the goods.

The drawings which accompany and form part of this specification illustrate a preferred form of apparatus embodying the invention.

Figure I represents such apparatus in side elevation, the driving mechanism being conveniently indicated by broken linesbecause of the necessarily small scale. Fig. II shows the same in top plan view, a considerable number of parts being omitted because merely duplications of others shown. Fig. III represents this apparatus in end elevation as viewed from the right-hand end of Fig. II or Fig. I. Fig. IV shows a top plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the apparatus. Fig. V represents the same in side elevation. Fig.VI shows a top plan View of another portion of the apparatus, on an enlarged scale. Fig. VII represents the same in side elevation. Fig.VIII represents one of the feed-rollers in side elevation, together with a face view of one head of the same. Fig. IX shows similar views of one of the rotary brush-rolls. Fig. X represents one ofthe duplex burners in perspective. Fig. XI shows face and side edge views of a roller-supporting bracket. Fig. XII shows face and side edge views of a roller-supporting arm. Fig. XIII shows similar views of a similar arm. Fig. XIV shows top, face, and side edge views of a feed-rollersupporting standard. Fig. XV shows face and side edge views of a brush-supporting standard. Fig. XVI shows one of the boarded stockings as it is passed through the machine.

The supporting-framework of the apparatus comprises two bed-plates d, L-shaped in cross-section and of considerable length, said plates being connected together by tie-bolts ct and supported at a suitable elevation by inclined uprights b, between which extend longitudinal and transverse brace-bars c. Standards d, erected upon the bed-plates a at one end of the machine, support a pair of rollers d d", over which runs an endless apron cl2, whose upper stretch receives the goods to be treated, this apron being so operated as to keep its upper stretch moving constantly toward the discharge end of 'the machine. In order to prevent displacement of the goods after they have been deposited upon the apron, I set on edge at each side of the latter an elongated guard-plate e, which extends along and rises above the upper stretch of the apron, being supported by suitable uprights e2, erected on the bed-plates a.

A short distance beyond the apron-roller d" afeed-roller f is supported in standards f', erected on the bed-plates a, said feed-roller IOO being geared to the apron-supporting roller d", so as to rotate in the same direction therewith, by means of sprocket-wheels d3 and f" on the journals of these two rollers and around which passes a chain, (conventionally indicated in Fig. Il by the broken line d4.) Another feed-roller f2 is arranged immediately above the feed-rollerf and is journaled in bearings formed on a pairof arms f3, which are pivotally mounted u pon the journals of the apron-supporting roller d", as shown at f4, these two arms being connected by tierods f5, extending between their upper and lower ends.

A main gas-pipe g extends alongside one of the bed-plates a, and a branch pipe g rises from a suitable union at one end of the same and is connected by an elbow with the stem of a duplex burner consisting of two lengths of pipe g2, perforated in the confrontingT sides and connected by elbows and screw-threaded nipples with an obliquely-set T-shaped union g3,with which the above-mentioned stem connects. Thisburnerislocatedashortdistance beyond the feed-rollers f j2 and is so arranged that its members g2 have position above and below the path of the goods moved forward by said feed-rollers, so as to direct gas-jets against both sides of the goods. Beyond this duplex burner another pair of feed-rollers 71, and 71,' are located, the lower one being journaled in standards h2, erected on the bedplates @,and the upper one being journaled in bearings formed upon a pair of arms h3, similar to the previously-described arms f3 and connected together by tie-rods, as are the latter. Standardst' are erected on the bedplatesct just beyond the standards h2 and are formed with bearings for a pair of rotary brushes i' and 2,whose journals carry intermeshing cog-wheels i", Fig. V, and the journals of the lower one of which constitute pivots for the arms h3. The latter and the arms f3 are connected together at their upper ends by spiral springsj, which exert themselves to press the rollers f2 and h toward the rollers fand 7L for the purpose of insuring the desired feeding action of the rollers upon the goods under treatment. A third pair of feedrollers 7c and 7a are arranged -beyond the rotary brushes t" and i2, the upper 011e of said feedrollers being journaled in arms k2, which are pivoted upon the journals of the lower brush 'i'. The journals of this lower brush also carry a pair of sprocket-wheels 7.93 and h4, which are connected, respectively, by sprocket-chains 704 and h5 with sprocket-wheels 705 and h6, carried by the journals of the feed-rollers k and 7L', through which connections said feedrollers are driven in a direction to advance the goods.

The above-described arrangement' of two pairs of feed-rollers, such as h h and 7c 7c',with a pair of rotary brushes, such as '12, between them, is duplicated as many times as found desirable in the apparatus, the duplex burner being correspondingly duplicated, and in the present instance I have shown two duplications of such arrangement, so that the goods will be three times singed and brushed in passing through the apparatus.

In the construction of parts to make up an apparatus such'as here shown provision is made for ready conformity to any requirements as to the extent of treatment to which goods should be subjected. The gas-pipe g is made up of sections united by unions from which the branches g extend, and of course any number of such sections can be coupled together with a burner branch at each union, plugs g" being inserted in the end unions. The sets of feed-rollers can be duplicated as many times as desirable, a pair of rotary brushes being arranged between the pairs of rollers of each set. By reason of this duplication of parts it happens that a burner appears in the drawings beyond the last double set of feed-rollers; but this burneris used only when the apparatus is extended by the addi- 4 tion of more sets of feed-rollers and more sections of gas-pipe. There is, however, one additional pair of feed-rollers fu fu', which deliver the goods, the upper one of these rollers being journaled in arms c, pivoted on the drivingshaft n and connected by tie-rods 02, and also joined to similar arms of the last set of feedrollers by spiral springs v3.

Each of the lower feed-rollers has a sprocketwheel m affixed to its journal, and each of the lower brushes has a sprocket-wheel fm aiiixed to its journal, and a sprocket-chain passes over each of the feed-roller sprocket-Wheels and under each of the brush sprocket-wheels, said sprocket-chain being indicated conventionally in Figs. I and II by the broken line fm and designated by the same reference symbol in other figures, Where the parts appear on a larger scale. At the left-hand end of the machine Vthe driving-shaft n is journaled in suitable standards erected on the bed-plates a,and this shaft carries a sprocketwheel m2, around which the chain fm passes, said chain thence running to and passing around the sprocket-wheel m on the journal of the first lower feed-roller f. A roller or pulley 0 is supported by a bracket 0,depend ing from one of the bed-plates a and adjustably secu red thereto, said roller or pulley engaging the lower stretch of the chain fm," to hold the same taut, the adjustment providing for taking up slack in the chain. wheel c4, Fig. VI, on said drivin g-shaft is connected by a crossed chain 1:5 with a sprocketwheel c on the journal of the roller fu.

The driving-shaft frz, carries a pulley n', to which any suitable motor may be connected, and it will be seen that when driven'in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. I this pulley will impart motion to all of the lower feed-rollers in the same direction and to all of the lower brushes in the opposite direction, whereby said rollers are caused to advance A sprocket- ICO IIO

the goods through the machine, while the brushes operate upon the goods in an opposite direction to that in which they are moving.

The several duplex burners are all connected by branch pipes with the main pipe g, and the latter is connected by a short pipesection with a head p, into which gas and air pipes q and r enter, the object being to supply the burners with a Bunsen flame.

In operation the stockings having been stretched over the boards are placed upon the upper stretch of the feed-apron d2 and by the latter advanced between the first pair of feed-rollers, which carry them on between the members of the first duplex burner, where all sides are subjected to the action of the Bunsen flames issuing through the perforations in said burner members. The goods are taken by the next set of feed-rollers before being released by the first set, so that there is no danger of their dropping in the space between the two sets of rollers, and by this second set of feed-rollers the goods are passed lbetween the brushes t" and t2, each rotating in a reverse direction to the feed-rollers, and they remove the singed lint and fuzz from the surface of the goods. Finally, after being several times singed and brushed, the goods are discharged from the apparatus by the rollers QJ and t.

Each of the feed-rollers is preferably constructed of a cylinder of thin brass tubing and heads t, to which the same is secured and which are fastened to the journal, as shown in Fig. VIII.

In order to prevent the Lipper feed-roller of any pair from coming in contact with its mate, I may employ a screw-threaded rod w, such as shown in Figs. V and VII, this rod being adjustably secured in the bed-plate with its upper end constituting an abutment for one of the swinging arms which support the upper roller.

Each of the rotary brushes comprises a wooden core u and metal caps or heads u', fastened to the same and to the journal, as shown in Fig. IX, the said wooden core carrying the bristles. The bristles of the last set of brushes which act on the goods are preferably somewhat softer than those of the other brushes, so as to simply remove singed mat- 'ter without raising any fresh lint.

In Fig. XVI the reference-numeral 2 designates one of the forms, which consists of a thin wooden board so shaped as to fill out the stocking, causing the same to lie smoothly over it on all sides. The stocking is designated by the numeral 3, and it will be understood that the board is so thin that the flames readily reach those portions of the stocking lying over the edges, as well as the portions stretched over the sides of the board, the burner-pipes, moreover, being of sufficient length to insure Contact ofthe singeing-flames all over the surface of the stocking. Of course the movement of the goods will be sufficiently rapid to prevent any injurious effects of the described with apparatus of the character shown advantageous results are obtained in that the desired exterior finish is imparted to the goods by removal of lint and fuzz, while the interior is not affected, but is left with the desired soft surface. No injurious effects ensue such as heretofore experienced from the use of chemicals, for none are employed in carrying out my invention, the process being of a mechanical nature. Moreover, frictional action is not relied upon in any degree, so that no loss of weight or elasticity is experienced.

Vhile the form of apparatus here shown is admirably adapted to the purpose in view, yet it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms.

I have here shown associated with the machine an air-exhaust conduit z, extending horizontally below the bed-plates ct and having mouths z ,z2 z3, located below the spaces immediately in rear of the several pairs of rotary brushes, and also a centrally-located blower connection ,24, the object of this arrangement being to carry off the singed lint and fuzz as it is brushed from the goods.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of feed-rollers arranged in a series of alining pairs between which the goods under treatment successively pass, means for continuously driving said feed-rollers to advance the goods, a burner located between two pairs of the feedrollers and adapted to direct llames against the passing goods, and a brush located between one of said two pairs of feed-rollers and the adjacent pair in position to remove singed matter from the surface of the goods.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of feed-rollers arranged in a series of alining pairs between which the goods under treatment successively pass, means for continuously driving said feed-rollers to advance the goods, burners located between two pairs of the feedrollers and on opposite sides of the path of movement of the goods, said burners adapted to direct llames against the latter,and brushes located on opposite sides of the path of movement of the goods between one of said two pairs of feed-rollers and the adjacent pair in position to remove singed matter from the surfaces of the goods, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of feed-rollers arranged in a series of alining pairs between which the goods under treatment successively pass, means for continuously driving said feed-rollers to advance the goods, burn- IOO IIO,

ers located between two pairs of the feedrollers and on opposite sides of the path of movement of the goods; said burners adapted to direct names against the latter, a pair of rotary cylindrical brushes located between one of said two pairs of 4feed-rollers and the adjacent pair in alinement therewith, and means for driving said brushes oppositely to the feed-rollers.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of feed-rollers arranged in a series of alining pairs between which the goods under treatment successively pass, means for continuously driving said feed-rollers to advance the goods, one or more burners located between every other two adjacent pairs of feed-rollers, and one or more brushes located between the alternating two adjacent pairs of rollers, substantially as described.

5. An apparatus of the characterdescribed, the same comprising a horizontal feed-apron and supports, a horizontal series of verticallypaired feed-rollers, means fordrivin g the feedapron and feed-rollers continuously in directions to constantly advance goods placed on the apron and introduced between the rollers, burners located between certain pairs of the feed-rollers and arranged to direct fiames against the passing goods as they are transferred between the said pairs of rollers, 1'0- tary brushes arranged in pairs between certain of the pairs of feedrolls where the goods in passing from one of such pairs of feedrolls to anothermustpassbetween thebrushes, and means for rotating the latter oppositely to the feed-rollers, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of feed-rollers arranged in confronting pairs, concentricallypivoted arms su pporting the upper rollers of the pairs,tierods connectingthe armsin pairs, means for continuously rotating the rollers in directions to advance the goods under treatment, brushes to act on the goods while passing between the pairs of rollers, and burners arranged to direct flames against the goods as they approach the rollers.

7. In an apparatus of the character described the combination of feed-rollers arrangedin confronting pairs, pivoted arms sup-l porting the upper rollers of the pairs, retractile springs connecting the arms, means for limiting the movement of the said upper rollers toward the lower rollers, means for driving the rollers so as to advance goods brought between them, burners for directing flames against the surface ot' the goods, and brushes to remove singed matter from the surface of the goods. Y

8. An apparatus of the character described the same comprising a horizontal series of vertically-paired feed-rollers, one roller of each pair movable toward and from the other, rotary brushes located between certain pairs of feed-rollers, burners in the form of pipes transversely arranged between certain other pairs of feed-rollers, a gas-conduit extending longitudinally of the .machine and having branches to supply the burner, means for driving the feed-rollers in directions to advance the goods continuously and expose them to the flames of the burners, together with means for driving the brushes in opposition to the advance of the goods, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. The combination of burner tubes arranged on opposite sides of the path of the article to be singed, pairs of rolls arranged on opposite sides of the singeing device, and a former over which the fabric is adapted to be stripped, substantially as described.

10. In a stocking-singeing machine, burnertubes arranged to direct their flames toward each other, a suitable former over which the stockings to be singed are stripped, whereby the threads or fibers thereof are stretched or spread apart, the means for bodily moving said former and surrounding stockings between the flames of the burner-tubes, substantially as described.

ll. In a stocking-singeing machine, a pair of burner-tubes located in different planes and each provided with jet-openings, so as to produce an upwardly and a downwardly disposed tlame, a suitable former over which the stockings to be singed are4 stretched, and pairs of rollerslocated at opposite sides of the burner-tubes for conducting the said former and surrounding stocking between the iiames of the burner-tubes, whereby both sides of the stocking are singed at one operation.

l2. In a stocking-singeing machine, a pair of burner-tubes located in close proximity to each. other, so as to produce a downwardly and an upwardly disposed flame, a suitable former for supporting the stockings from within in a comparatively iiat condition, and pairs of rollers located at opposite sides of the burner-tubes for conducting the said former and surrounding stocking through the flames of the burnentubes, so that both sides of the stocking will be singed at one operation.

13. In a stocking-singeing machine, a pair of burner-tubes arranged to project jets of flame in opposite directions, a suitable former over which the stockings to be singed are stretched and by which they are supported in a flat condition, and means for feeding said former and surrounding stocking through the jets of llame, whereby both sides of the stocking are singed at one operation.

14. In a stocking-singeing machine, a pair of burner-tubes located in close proximity to each other and each provided with jet-openings, a pair of feed-rollers arranged upon each side of the vburner-tubes, the adjacent peripheries of each pair of said rollers being on a line substantially horizontal with the said burners, and means for causing said feedrollers to rotate in unison.

l5. In a stocking-singeing machine, a pair IOO IOS

IIO

of burner-tubes located in close proximity to from the feeding-table through the ilames of 1o each other so as to produce an upwardly and the burner-tubes, for the purpose specified.

a downwardly disposed flame, respectively, a In testimony whereof I affix my signature feed-table at one end of the machine, guard-V in presence of two witnesses.

plates or guides upon said lfable, a suitable former for supporting the stocking from with- ROBERT MEYER' in in a practically flat condition, and pairs of Witnesses: rollers located at opposite sides of the burner- FRED. E. SCHMIDT, tubes for conducting the former and stocking,` OTTO BRALL. 

